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Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue vs Hale Navy (Undertones and More!)

    So you’ve settled on a couple of dark blues, but you just can’t decide? Here we will talk about the subtle differences between two Benjamin Moore favorites: Newburyport Blue and Hale Navy.

    Benjamin Moore Hale Navy swatched on a paint lid of the same for Newburyport Blue, over a mural wall with an abstract green, blue, and yellow swirling pattern.

    We will see each in real homes and on exteriors, as well as chat about the technical differences!

    Visual Differences Between Newburyport Blue and Hale Navy (Let’s Talk Undertones!)

    The major differences between these two colors, is that Newburyport Blue is lighter and closer to a dark denim blue, where Hale Navy is a true navy blue.

    Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue on half of a wall and Hale Navy on the other half behind a white sofa and wood coffee table.

    The colors look a bit closer in real life and in different lighting scenarios than they do on the swatch, but we will see more in just a minute!

    Technical Differences Between Newburyport Blue and Hale Navy

    Here are both colors charted on the color wheel:

    Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue swatched beside an arrow pointing out its location on the color wheel, and the same of Hale Navy.

    You can see that Hale Navy is a little bit more gray than Newburyport Blue, as it sits closer to the middle of the wheel.

    Newburyport Blue also leans a tiny bit warmer and more green than Hale Navy does. This is what gives it the brighter denim blue look.

    Here are the LRVs of each color, alongside swatches of other popular blues:

    Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue and Hale Navy marked on an LRV chart at 10 and 8 respectively on a scale of 100 (true white) to 0 (true black). Over a background of navy blue kitchen cabinets.

    What’s an LRV?

    The LRV (Light Reflectance Value) of a color indicates on a scale of 0 – 100 how much light a color reflects (or doesn’t reflect). True black has an LRV of 0 and pure white has an LRV of 100.

    In the paint world, we are working in a range of about 3 – 93 because no paint color is purely black or completely white.

    Newburyport Blue is lighter than Hale Navy, with an LRV of 10 vs 8. Typically I define truly dark paint colors as having LRVs of 10 or less. By that definition, Hale Navy is definitely dark, and Newburyport Blue toes the line between dark and the darker end of mid-tones.

    How Newburyport Blue and Hale Navy Compare Inside Real Homes

    Let’s take a look at the difference in real life, which is where things get more nuanced:

    Newburyport Blue vs Hale Navy on Cabinets

    Newburyport Blue swatched over a photo of the same color on cabinets, above the same of Hale Navy: Swatch and cabinets.

    You can see in this example that the contrast between these colors is pretty subtle. Here are the Newburyport cabinets on their own:

    Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue on cabinets in a large laundry room that is more of a kitchen style with long banks of countertops.
    Photo credit: @deboeverinteriors

    Bearing in mind that the light is bright and warm, I think the best place to gauge the color is inside the far shelves. There you can see a beautiful blue that verges on navy.

    In the upper cabinets the color looks a little more gray, and you wouldn’t be wrong for wondering if it’s Hale Navy!

    Onto the real Hale Navy cabinets:

    Hale Navy lower cabinets and island with white uppers and white countertops
    Photo credit: @grcabinetpainting

    Here you can see that the difference between Hale Navy and Newburyport Blue is subtle, but I do think the undertone speaks for itself. In the brighter light of the island, you can see that the color is a slightly different shade of blue, even if you ignore the difference in lightness and saturation.

    Newburyport Blue and Hale Navy Undertones shown together in swatches taken from photos of each color on cabinets.

    Again Newburyport Blue leans slightly more “ocean blue”, and Hale Navy leans “blueberry”.

    Newburyport Blue vs Hale Navy on Exteriors

    The other example I have to show you of these two colors is on an exterior.

    First we will see a more obvious difference between the two:

    Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue on an exterior and Hale Navy on an exterior, positioned side by side.
    Left: @word_of_mouth_painting Right: @lasservices

    This is only kind of a fair comparison, because most colors will look a bit darker on brick due to the shadows in the texture.

    Here is each color on siding where the difference is a bit more subtle:

    Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue on an exterior, above a photo of Hale Navy on an exterior.
    Top: @word_of_mouth_painting Bottom: @lasservices

    Is Newburyport Blue or Hale Navy Better?

    Of course which blue is best depends on your goal.

    • Newburyport Blue is a good choice if you want a slightly brighter version of navy.
    • Hale Navy is better if you want a subtle but true navy that coordinates with any and all other colors. (That’s what it is best known for!)
    Graphic reads Hale Navy alternatives with an array of navy blue paint colors on paint lids arranged on a wooden background with blue flowers scattered around.
    Luxurious Blue Exterior Colors includes swatches of 6 different blue and navy paint colors over a background of a rich blue home exterior.
    Sherwin Williams Naval color palette. All colors are displayed on paint lids over a background of a ship's porthole window. Colors are Accessible Beige, Alabaster, Agreeable Gray, Urbane Bronze, Carolina Gull, Icicle, and Sea salt.